Cal Poly Heads to March 15-17 CSUN/LMU Tournament

SAN LUIS OBISPO – The sixth and final of the Cal Poly softball program's pre-Big West Conference tournaments occurs at the March 15-17 jointly-hosted CSUN/LMU Tournament. Cal Poly's five-game stretch begins on Friday, March 15 at Loyola Marymount versus the host Lions (14-9) at 8 a.m. and Illinois (12-4) at 12:15 p.m. Action continues from CSUN's Matador Field on Saturday, March 16 against first-time opponent Cal Baptist (8-13) at 10 a.m. and Dartmouth (2-8) at 12:15 p.m. Cal Poly (4-18) completes the CSUN/LMU Tournament on Sunday, March 17 at Loyola Marymount with a 10:30 a.m. rematch versus Illinois, which received 19 votes in the March 12 edition of the USA Today/NFCA Top 25 coaches poll to finish eight points shy of No. 25 Michigan.

FOLLOW CAL POLY THIS WEEK: Live stats for all five of Cal Poly's CSUN/LMU Tournament games will be available via GoPoly.com HERE.

CAL POLY VERSUS CSUN/LMU TOURNAMENT OPPONENTS: Having already dropped a 7-6, eight-inning decision to Loyola Marymount (Feb. 17), Cal Poly trails in the all-time series, 8-6. Loyola Marymount also enjoys a three-game winning streak versus Cal Poly … the Mustangs split a March 17, 2018 doubleheader versus Illinois in Fresno, but the Illini lead the all-time series, 3-1 … the Mustangs have never previously faced Cal Baptist … Cal Poly has won all three previous meetings with Dartmouth, most recently handing the Big Green a 2-1 defeat on March 19, 2017.

YOUNG'S SUPERB SENIOR SEASON: A starter in 163 of a possible 181 games for Cal Poly and a .992 career fielder with just eight collegiate errors in 1,015 chances, senior catcher Makenna Young (above) enters the CSUN/LMU Tournament leading Cal Poly with a .318 batting average, 21 hits, 14 RBI and 33 total bases. Young, who had never batted higher than .214 in a season prior to this year, has hit safely in 13 of 21 appearances. She also owns three of Cal Poly's four three-hit games thus far.

MARTIN CONTINUES TO SET THE OFFENSIVE PACE: Cal Poly's leading hitter a year ago, first baseman Hailey Martin ranks second in the lineup with a .317 batting average and 20 hits while leading the Mustangs with seven multi-hit games. Ranked ninth in program history with a .306 (104-for-340) batting average, Martin is a .987 career fielder with just 10 errors in 116 college games. She's also started 116 of a possible 131 games as a Mustang.

MUSTANGS FACE NATION'S FINEST ONCE MORE IN 2019: In what has become a hallmark of 15th-year head coach Jenny Condon's tenure, Cal Poly will again contest one of the more competitive schedules in Division I during the 2019 season. In total, 11 of Cal Poly's opening 31 games occur against programs ranked or receiving votes in the USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 poll (ranking from date of game).